to the place where mermaids dwell
by IHateYouToTheMoonAndBack
Summary: Captain Claw is the most feared pirate on the seven seas. His nephew, Talon, will do anything to become as powerful as his uncle. But before Talon can become the captain of his own ship he must complete a quest, find a mermaid and capture her heart. Talenny Mermaid/Pirate AU.
1. to the place where mermaids dwell

to the place where mermaids dwell

 _"Beauty in the water,_  
 _Angel on the beach._  
 _Ocean's daughter._  
 _I thought love was out of reach_  
 _'Til I got her."  
 **-Train "Mermaid"**_

Penny is a mermaid, Talon is a pirate, and I don't feel like capitalising my title. Deal with it. This will be a short story, not trying to drag this out too much.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with mermaids and pirates so I thought why not combine my two loves. Mostly based off of the merpeople klance aus that I have recently become obsessed with.

 **-Enjoy!-**

The sound of swords clanging together could be heard throughout the entire ship on that clear midsummer day. The fight was so loud that the crew of the SS MAD couldn't even hear the sound of the calm waves lapping against the side of the boat. While the sounds of the duel were rather disruptive to the pirates, they knew better than to intervene. Afterall, interrupting the Captain during a duel was like asking to be thrown overboard and fed to the sharks. So the crew went about their business as a young man, no older than seventeen, fought his hardest to prove himself. He took a step back, his big black boots made the deck creak and groan underneath him has he parried and advanced. But the man he was fighting with was clearly the better swordsman and had the upper hand. Within minutes the duel was over, the young man fell to the ground, his opponent's sword raised above his head.

"I won't tolerate this loss." The man spat angrily, his voice low and raspy. The man shook his head and lowered his sword. "How can I expect you to take over as captain of my ship if you can't even beat me in a duel?"

The young man stood up on shaky legs, he opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped.

"Leave." The man demanded. "Out of my sight."

The young man turned and ran below deck. He caught the eye of a few crewmates, some giving him sympathetic looks, but he paid attention to none. He didn't stop running until he was safely in his room. Only he and the Captain had private rooms, he guessed it was a perk of being the Captain's nephew. The young man sunk into his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He wished that there was a way to prove to his uncle that he was capable of becoming the SS MAD's captain. Captain Claw was the most feared pirate to ever plunder the seven seas. He had killed and robbed more fleets than any known pirate ever had before. The bounty on his head was more than any criminal in history. Him and the SS MAD, which stood for Madness and Damnation, had become infamous.

Now if only he had someone who could continue to carry out his legacy. When a man was in possession of a large fortune, the inheritance often went to his firstborn son. Captain Claw, however, didn't have any heirs. Luckily for Claw, but so unlucky for the boy, his brother's only son had become orphaned rather young, which meant that Claw had an heir. Captain Claw trained his nephew harder than he trained any of the men in his crew. And Claw promised that one day, he would give the ship to his nephew when his skills surpassed his own. Unluckily for both Claw and Talon, that never seemed to happen. Talon had become quite the talented young pirate, there was no doubting that. But no matter how hard he trained, he always lacked something, something that was preventing him from surpassing his uncle.

Talon skipped dinner that night. He couldn't sit at the table with his Uncle after that crushing defeat, nor did he want to get lectured in front of the entire crew. Talon stayed in his room studying the multitude of maps that he would use to navigate the waters that lay ahead. The sea had always been a part of his life. He didn't remember his life before, when he lived with his parents on land. All he remembered was the ship and the endless ocean. The ocean had always fascinated him. He had heard tales of monsters, of great beasts that hid in the deep. Dangerous creatures lived in the unknown waters, he had heard tales from many sailors over the years. Giant squids whose tentacles pulled boats apart. Monstrous demons that could devour a pirate's ship whole. And then, there were the mermaids. The mermaids, he had been told, were beautiful women who had tails in place of legs, their voices were sad to be so beautiful that it would compel a man to drown himself. Talon had heard these stories among many others, but wasn't sure that he believed in any of them. He liked to think of himself as more of a man of science than anything else. It was impossible for such a thing to exist, wasn't it?

It was nighttime when Talon left his room and made his way up to the top deck of the ship, the wood creaking under his weathered boots with every step he took. He held a gas lamp in his hand, the yellow light emitting just enough light for him to make sense of the darkness. It was a clear night, the full moon hung bright and luminescent in the sky, and reflections of a million stars dotted the dark ocean water. The waves lapped calmly against the side of the boat as it slowly travelled forward. Despite the light from the gas lamp, Talon could see nothing beyond the deck of the ship. There were no other lights that he could see, none from other ships, nor any stray light from land. They were miles from civilization. If he had to guess, he'd say that the closest port was at least another day of sailing away. He looked up at the stars, a sailor's most important companion on any voyage. The stars were how sailors navigated the cold and treacherous waters of the unknown. Talon took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of salt water. He closed his eyes and listened to the calming sound of the waves gently hitting the side of the boat. t was a frequent past time for the young man, he found the sound to be relaxing. But there was something off about the sound this night. Instead of hearing the calm waters, Talon heard singing.

His eyes immediately flew open, just in time to see something dive down into the water. It was far too dark for him to make sense of what it was, but he couldn't deny that he had seen it. A tail, perhaps belonging to a porpoise or a large fish. Nothing out of the ordinary on the sea, but why had he heard singing? It couldn't have been a crew member, even if one was awake none of those men would be caught singing while sober. Plus, the voice was too high to be male and the SS MAD did not have any female crew members currently on board. Surely he was too far from land for there to be a person out there and he didn't see another boat. Who could have been singing this far out at sea?

After a minute, he began to hear the song again. It was so soft, so beautiful. An angelic, almost ethereal, sound that filled the quiet night air. A melody, the words lost to the ages, but beautiful nonetheless. Her song sounded melancholy, yet at the same time hopeful. Talon's eyes searched the water beneath him, looking for the owner of the voice, but could find none. Talon held the gas lamp over the side of the boat, letting the yellow light illuminate the cold waters, but still no sign of anyone. All he could see was the water and what looked like a bed of seaweed floating along the ocean's surface. Nothing out of the ordinary. The singing abruptly stopped, as though the singer had caught on that someone had been listening. Talon heard a small gasp, as though someone had seen him.

"Wait!" Talon called instinctively, even if he knew he might be talking to air.

Talon looked back at the bed of seaweed, only to nearly drop his lamp in the ocean. The bed of seaweed had turned out to be not seaweed at all, but a person. There was a person floating in the middle of the ocean. The figure looked to be female, with blonde hair that fanned around her head like a golden halo or a crown. Her skin was so pale, as though she had never spent a day in the sun. But the feature that shocked Talon the most, was the long silver tail she had in place of legs. Talon stumbled back before falling with a loud thud. He quickly stood up and looked back out at the water, but whatever he saw was gone. He must have been seeing things. He had to be. Women were not swimming out in the middle of the ocean and they certainly didn't have tails. He must have been even more tired than he thought.

The young man rubbed his eyes and turned to go back to his room. He was looking forward to going to bed, but definitely not looking forward to morning and the inevitable lecture he would get from his uncle.

"Talon." He heard the familiar voice of his Uncle. Of course, he would still be awake.

He guessed he was going to have this lecture now.

But to Talon's surprise, Claw looked over the side of the boat, scouring the water like Talon had just minutes ago.

"What was there?" It sounded more of a demand than a question.

Talon raised his eyebrow at his uncle, confused as to what he meant. He was tired, surely he had imagined the whole thing. There had been nothing there. Talon's silence only annoyed and angered Claw.

"Tell me what you saw!" Claw commanded.

Talon let out a long breath. "Nothing." He replied after a quiet moment.

"Tell me." Claw's eyes narrowed at his nephew.

Talon threw his hands up in surrender. He knew his Uncle wouldn't believe him, then he would be accused of lying and then he would be in even more trouble, just great.

"I thought I saw a woman," Talon finally admitted. "But she didn't have legs, she was-"

"Mermaid." Claw interrupted. His voice slowly grew louder, he pointed a finger at his nephew accusingly. "You saw a mermaid and you didn't catch her?"

Talon was shocked, to say the least. His uncle actually believed him? Talon thought that Claw would accuse him of telling stories, lying to save his ass. He never thought that he would be yelled at for not attempting to catch a creature that surely didn't exist.

"I didn't know?" Talon replied, not entirely sure what to say in this situation. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Claw let out an exasperated sigh. "Boy, don't you know what would happen if you caught a mermaid?"

Talon shook his head. He wasn't aware that there was a value on the creature, nor that his Uncle was aware of their existence.

"A mermaid's tail is worth more than any treasure in existence," Claw told him. "And it's said that eating their heart will give the consumer immortality. With a mermaid's heart, I could become an eternal dictator, I could rule the world forever."

Talon looked at his uncle quizzically. Over the years Talon has heard many of his uncle's crazy schemes to gain excessive amounts of money and take over the world, some more ludicrous than others, but this was insane. He wanted Talon to catch a mythical creature and bring him her heart to gain immortality. It was ridiculous. He still wasn't entirely convinced that mermaids actually existed, that he hadn't been imagining the whole thing. Talon looked up at his Uncle and saw a look that he had seen many times, a look that usually meant Talon had to be put in some sort of life-threatening situation, he had an idea.

"Talon, I've decided to give you a new mission," Claw informed him. "And, if you succeed, you will immediately inherit the SS MAD."

Talon's eyes widened in both shock and excitement. He would inherit the entire ship? Just like that? Claw cleared his throat and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"Tomorrow we will be docking in Florice," Claw explained. "One of my old boats is docked there, I want you to take that boat along with two crew members, and you will have one month to complete a task for me."

Talon looked up at his Uncle, listening intently. A real mission, just for him. And if he succeeded, this whole ship would be his.

Claw paused for a moment before continuing. "I want you to find her, and I want you to steal that mermaid's heart."

 **-End of chapter one-**

Yup, Talon's gonna steal a mermaid's heart alright. Wink wonk.

What's an update schedule? I'll update when I damn well please.

I'm not really a fluffy person, but I'm a bit drunk this weekend and drunk me is kinda a lil pansy piece of shit.

K, Mariella out, peace!


	2. the mermaid's song

the mermaid's song

 _"Follow the call of trumpet shells_  
 _We'll fill your sails with friendly winds_  
 _And point the way with shining fins_  
 _And you can bid your cares farewell"  
_ - **The Little Mermaid "Where Mermaids Dwell"**

I hope that everyone is having a great day. Now who wants more mermaids and pirates? I sure do!

 **-enjoy!-**

Penny quickly dove beneath the waves, away from the boat bopping slowly in the water. She shouldn't have been so careless, she knew better than that. But she couldn't help it. The night sky looked so beautiful and serene, the indigo sky lit up by the glow of the moon and the twinkle of stars. Such a night would be horribly incomplete without music. So she began to hum, a melody that had been hers since childhood although she could not remember where she first heard it. But the hum slowly turned into a whistle, and from there became a complete song. She had been so lost in her song that she hadn't noticed herself beginning to drift away and she didn't see the ship until it was already too late.

The ship was much taller than any of the fishing vessels she'd seen, and this ship was much more terrifying. This ship had the ability to strike fear into whoever was unlucky enough to come across it. The ship was adorned with many flags, each with a skull and crossbones decorating the colourful cloth. Penny's song had abruptly stopped, she couldn't risk anyone overhearing her song. She looked up at the big ship looming over her and noticed a shadow looking down at her. The girl let out a small gasp, praying that the human wasn't aware of her presence. She was about to dive back into the water when she heard a voice calling out to her. She turned back for just a moment, long enough to lock eyes with the shadow. His features were hard to make out, all she could see were deep brown eyes looking down at her from the deck of the ship. He took in her appearance, Penny noticed his expression change to one of shock. That is when Penny dove back underneath the water, her long silver tail carrying her back to the ocean's bed. Back to the reef. Back home.

How could she have been so careless as to let a human see her? To allow a human to listen to her song? It could have been disastrous. Chief Quimby, the leader of the tribe, would have her head for acting out the way she did. She knew she wasn't allowed to go off without permission, and she was definitely forbidden from singing in front of humans. Especially since she knew what a mermaid's song could do. However, Penny was a fairly young mermaid, her powers had not quite developed to the point where she could control humans with her song. The thought that she would one day obtain these powers made bile rise in her throat. Penny knew that most mermaids were not like the ones in her reef. In other reefs, mermaids were hunters, preying on unsuspecting sailors and devouring them whole. But Penny had grown up in a reef with mermaids who believed that they should be respectful of humans and help them when they could. The mermaids in her reef were not hunters or killers, they were warriors and protectors. They calmed the waters during harsh storms so that ships could pass by unharmed, they would save drowning sailors as their ships sunk down into the sea. It was a rewarding life, but she knew that she could not allow humans to know that their saviour was a mermaid, there was no telling what a human would do to a mermaid. She had already seen the way humans treated fish, she didn't want to end up like that.

Penny swam as fast as her tail could take her, and she was back in the reef in no time at all. Colourful fish swam amongst the coral, various shells and starfish lay on the ocean floor. A content smile appeared on the young girl's face. Home, she was home.

"Penny!"

And she was in trouble.

Penny turned to the source of the angry voice. The man had a stern look on his face, his arms folded across his chest. It was the Chief of her tribe, of course he would be the one to catch her. Penny's eyes were cast down, waiting for the inevitable lecture.

"Where have you been?" He asked, although he most likely already knew the answer.

"I swam to the surface." Penny admitted, her voice small and meek.

"Penny, again?" He sounded disappointed. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you how dangerous it is to swim near the surface, what if you got caught in a net? Or someone saw you?"

This wasn't the first time she'd gotten this lecture. All she wanted was to look at the sky, to see just a tiny piece of the world beyond the ocean. She wasn't asking to leave the tribe, or to talk to humans, she only wanted to experience a tiny piece of the world's beauty.

"Did anyone see you?" The Chief urged.

Penny's thoughts returned to the person on the boat. A young man, she assumed. He had seen her, they locked eyes, just for a second. Panic slowly rose in her chest, what were the chances that he'd keep what he saw a secret?

"No." Penny lied.

The Chief sighed, but Penny didn't know if it was out of annoyance or relief.

"Penny, please be more careful." He begged. "Just remember the secret trick you learned if someone ever does see you."

Penny nodded meekly and then quickly made her leave. She did not want to stick around and get yelled at more. She didn't think she would ever get caught, nor did she think she would ever need the trick she'd learned. Penny's powers, while still in their early stages of development, were progressing rather quickly. Most mermaids her age could not yet even attempt the little trick she'd been taught. She had potential, nobody could deny that, but she was far too curious for her own good. Penny didn't think there was anything wrong with being curious. She had always been told that a curious mermaid was a dead mermaid, but she didn't believe that. She thought that it was good to be curious, to want to know things about the world out of the sea. The young mermaid closed her eyes and began to imagine what might be happening on land. She imagined people walking around the streets, going about their everyday lives. She imagined them laughing, running, shouting, dancing. The images of humans danced in her head until sleep finally took over her.

Little did the young mermaid know what was really happening on the surface. In the wee hours of the morning, a large ship pulled into a nearby port. The SS M.A.D, the most notorious pirate crew to ever sail the seven seas. Talon had made sure to wake up early so that he could explore the port before it was time for him to embark on his journey. Florice was a beautiful city. The roads were all cobblestone and a marble statue of a deity greeted ships as they arrived. Gondolas rose and fell in the water along with other small boats as the early morning sun began to rise in the sky. It was promising to be a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. The perfect day to catch a mermaid.

Talon spent the morning at the Florice harbourfront, looking over his many maps and buying the necessary supplies that he would need for the long journey that was ahead. He could still see her face in his mind, although it was dark he had seen her features almost perfectly. He had seen her long, golden hair perfectly framing her round face, her wide blue eyes and her slender nose. Talon knew that he had to be careful. From the stories he had heard, the mermaids used their beauty to seduce men and feed on them. As sad as it would be for him to take her life, he knew that he would have to immediately after he caught her. He couldn't risk her seducing him or his crewmates.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Talon and his crewmates had loaded their supplies onto the new ship. Captin Claw looked on at his men, his face completely void of emotions.

"We have enough supplies for the month," Talon told his Uncle, almost unable to hide his glee. He finally got to be the captain of his own ship, he was ecstatic. "Where will you be heading?"

"Verscati," Claw replied, glancing sideways he noticed the smug look on his nephew's face. "What is the smile for."

Talon's smile immediately fell. His Uncle would laugh at him if he knew just how excited he was for this mission. "I was just thinking about how pretty her head would look mounted on the wall." He finally replied.

Captain Claw looked at his nephew, eyebrows raised.

"You are not killing the mermaid." The man explained to his nephew.

Talon's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" Talon asked, a twinge of confusion in his voice. "You said you wanted to eat her heart."

The thought of eating someone's heart had completely grossed him out, but if his uncle believed it would grant him immortality than who was he to judge.

"In order for one to gain immortality the mermaid's heart must still be beating upon consumption." Captain Claw explained. "You must keep her alive."

Talon was confused and disgusted, but he was also fairly curious. His uncle seemed to know a lot about a subject that Talon had once believed to be merely fictious.

"How exactly do you know this?" Talon asked.

Captain Claw stared out at the sea, he was completely still, watching the boat bob up and down in the waves. A breeze blew past them, carrying the scent of salt water with it. Talon looked up at his Uncle, watching him furrow his eyebrows at the water. After a long moment, the man's stoic look returned, and he finally spoke.

"I have quite the history with monsters." Claw replied quietly before turning away.

Talon watched his uncle's back as he walked away, his long purple tailcoat trailing behind him.

"I will see you and the mermaid in Verscati in a month." Claw called back as he left the dock.

He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye, not that Talon had been expecting one. Talon turned back to his boat and let out a heavy sigh. His boat was rather large, much bigger than any of the other boats in the port, but it was still nowhere near the size of the SS M.A.D. In one month he was to arrive in Verscati and he was expected to arrive with a live mermaid in tow. Part of him knew that it would be nearly impossible to find her, maybe if he retraced the ship's route he would catch a glimpse of her. Talon's face fell as he realized just how impossible this task really was. But he couldn't give up, not now. Uncle Claw would never allow him to become Captain of the SS M.A.D. if he did. He at least had to try.

Talon let out a loud sigh and boarded his new ship. This was going to be a very long journey.

 **-End of chapter two-**

Surely it hasn't been that long since I uploaded... It's been a month? Whaaat? Lol, srry. I probs wont get better tbh. My summer has been a bit of a busy one, last year I was writing all the time but this summer I had two jobs and summer classes because I hate myself. School starts again next week, that's so weird to think about, I feel like summer has been so long, but now it feels so short. I hope that everyones school year is amazing.

I know it's short, but like I said before, I don't plan on making this story long.


End file.
